Letter: This generation does not want to know about atrocities which took 50 or even 30 years ago

Canon Irwin’s letter of Monday past (‘Until we deal with the legacy of terrorism, we have little hope of reconciliation,’ July 24, see link below) will resonate with thousands of people here, the rest of the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and further afield.

People who have lost loved ones to terrorism from whatever quarter. Forgotten, abandoned and ignored by all but particularly by our ‘own’ UK government.

Some say time to forget the past, move on – this generation doesn’t want to know or care what atrocities took place fifty, forty, thirty years ago.

As long as there is relative peace now who cares. Justice has been sacrificed – literally. I knew Canon Irwin’s uncle Fred, he and I sat opposite each other in the back of an eight UDR Land Rover the day before his murder.

I can still recall snippets of our conversation.

I will not forget, l do not want to.

Harry Patterson, Castlecaulfield

Rev Irwin: Until we deal with the legacy of terrorism, we have little hope of reconciliation